Penn State Pro Day primer: Time, participants, what to expect, and more

On3 imageby:Greg Pickel03/24/23

GregPickel

Penn State football will put its past players in the spotlight today. Numerous NFL hopefuls who once wore a Nittany Lions uniform will work out in front of pro personnel this morning and afternoon with hopes of upping their NFL Draft stock and/or impressing enough to one day earn an undrafted free agent contract or camp tryout opportunity.

The annual event will run from roughly the middle of Friday morning until sometime in the middle of the afternoon. In past years, it has been common for scouts or assistant coaches from all 32 NFL teams to show up. Some times, a coordinator, head coach, or general manager from some of the franchises will also make the trek. With expected first-round pick Joey Porter Jr., set to be among the group on hand, it won’t surprise us if a few of those types are in attendance.

Who is participating at Penn State Pro Day?

Here’s the full list. It is courtesy of Penn State Athletics:

Receivers Parker Washington

Receiver Mitchell Tinsley

Quarterback Sean Clifford

Tight end Brenton Strange

Guard/center Juice Scruggs

Safety Ji’Ayir Brown

Cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Defensive tackle PJ Mustipher

Linebacker Jonathan Sutherland

Defensive end Nick Tarburton

Punter Barney Amor

Long snapper Chris Stoll

Kicker Jake Pinegar

What will we be watching for?

First and foremost, follow along with us inside The Lions Den forum for updates throughout the event. The bench press, which takes place inside of Holuba Hall, is closed to reporters. But, the on-field testing and drill work is open to the media and starts around 11 a.m. We’ll have continuing coverage throughout the day here and full results at the conclusion of the day.

From a non Penn State standpoint, we’ll be curious to see which people from NFL teams show up. From there, we’ll be interested to see what all of the Combine participants — Porter Jr., Tinsley, Scruggs, Mustipher, Brown, and Strange — decide to repeat for the scouts and other personnel on hand. They are not obligated to redo anything they did last month in Indianapolis. But, most players will do whatever a team might ask of them.

Then, there is Parker Washington’s case, of course. A foot injury ended his Penn State career early. He was not yet healthy enough to participate in any on-field work at the NFL Combine. Will that be a different story at Pro Day? And if so, how much so? Time will tell.

Last but not least, among other things, plenty of eyes will be on Clifford’s throwing session. It goes without saying that he’s put a lot on tape during his six years in State College, during four of which he was the starting quarterback. But, this will allow NFL teams to see him in an up-close setting as he vies to make a camp if he goes undrafted as expected.

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